


Apple Pies

by EcholovesRoot



Series: The Princess and the Dragon [1]
Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Angst, But four hearts are stronger than one, Evie just wants to be loved, F/F, Love is Weakness, Mal just wants to be left alone, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-11-04 01:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10979604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EcholovesRoot/pseuds/EcholovesRoot
Summary: "Your mama's so soft she makes apple pies instead of poison apples"Caring only means you're getting soft. That is the only thing all the misfits and criminals agree on the Isle, so it's probably the truth, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write something for them because they're cute together. But also because, if Mal was a guy they would totally end up together. They started with hate on the Isle but they managed to be friend in the book. They seemed so close in the movie you could have swear they were friends for years. They would just show support and love for each others (despite the fact that they never learned how to do that) and in the Web Series they would do anything for the other.
> 
> So yeah true love and stuff.
> 
> My story kind of follow the book but not really (the beginning with Mal not invited to Evie's birthday is canon and the story begins a few years after the banishment of the Evil Queen and her daughter to the side of the Isle)
> 
> It probably will follow the movie as well but who knows

3 years after The Banishment _ 7 years ago

 

As a kid, Mal wouldn't stay in the same spot for more than five minutes. So, very quickly, she developed a taste for exploring the Isle. She needed to be careful because you never know who you might meet once you leave the safety of Maleficent's minions.

What she loved the most was going through abandoned buildings or climbing on the rocks by the beach - if that could be named this way, it was more mud than sand but whatever. Of course, saying she loved it would be a blasphemy around here so she just told her mother she was training.

One day, on a newly discovered spot by the beach, she heard a noise. It was not one she was familiar with and it sent goosebumps all over her body. She was careful not being seen and she just moved gracefully from rock to rock until she saw her.  
Mal wished she'd completely forgotten about the little princess with blue hair but she just couldn't. The lost invitation just had a way to sting, even years after.

Evie was sited on a rock and was turning in direction of the sea so her back faced Mal. The intruder took a few step to the side, just to be able to see her face while staying out of sight. It took her a few moments to realize the princess was crying. She looked hungry and really miserable, but for some reason she still took the time to put make up on.

The evil side of Mal just woke up and she decided to leave her spot and to be seen by Evie. She had some kind of snack in a bag, probably an apple. She took it out and began to throw it in the air and to catch it back before doing the same thing all over again.

Evie heard her and was terrified. She still remembered the terrible words from Maleficient, noone was supposed to see her. And her own mother would kill her if she knew Evie let someone see her cry.  
She was already terrified but when she saw the purple hair she knew she was in a lot more trouble than she thought.

"I'm sorry I didn't know anyone would be here" said Evie quickly before Mal had the time to say anything. She even thought about bowing but she knew that wasn't a good idea.  
"Please don't tell your mother!"

At that Mal just laughed. "I can't believe your mother is named the Evil Queen. You're so weak" and she laughed again.

Evil didn't think she was weak but she was so tired and so hungry that she didn't really want to argue.

Mal took her silence for an admission of weakness and stopped throwing her apple in the air. She locked her eyes with Evie's and began to slowly bit into her apple. She took all the time in the world and even let the juice just roll over her chin. She was taking great pleasure in the way Evie's eyes became wider and how her mouth just opened slightly.

But then Evie surprised her. She jumped on Mal, pushed her on the floor and took the apple. She surprised her even more when she didn't look like she was going to run with it. Evie looked at Mal still on the ground and quickly ate all the apple. One she finished she throw the core at Mal and waited for whatever punishment the daughter of Maleficient was about to inflict to her.

Mal just looked at her then she laughed again. That was not the same laugh at all, there was nothing mean in this one. She then appeared to have decided that she spent enough time on the ground, because she slowly started to get up paying no attention to Evie whatsoever. She took a more dominant position and took the time to take the mud off her clothes before talking again.

"Ok" she simply said.

"Ok?" Evie was clearly confused by now.

"OK, I will not tell my mother I saw you here today." She laughed one more time and she started to climb the rocks again. She thought that Evie may not be weak after all and that ought to be funny. She looked at the princess again from her perch, comically bowed to her and just left.

Evie didn't dare to feel relieved. Yes, Mal said she wouldn't tell her mother but how was she supposed to believe her? She just throw her on the floor and stole her food. Of course she was going to pay for this. The evil thing to do would be to pretend she's safe and attack her when she's not expecting it. Yes, that was probably Mal's plan.


	2. Chapter 2

Mal came back the very next week at the exact the same hour. If you had asked her, she would have told you it was purely coincidential. She just didn't have the chance to finish exploring last time. And the fact that she took the time to choose an apple slightly less rotten and with way more red didn't mean anything. She was the daughter of Maleficent, the most evil of them all, she didn't do nice. She wouldn't be nice to anyone, especially to this little brat who didn't invite her to her stupid birthday party.  
With that thought, she stopped on her tracks. Why was she here anyway? This girl didn't invite her and she had the nerve to leave her house and risk being seen despite Maleficent's interdiction. Mal should have told her mother about it. But something intrigued her about this blue hair princess. Evie looked so fragile and she hadn't even be ashamed of crying (or she was good at hiding it anyway), but she sent her to the ground so quickly that Mal didn't even reacked. There was something about how determined Evie's eyes were that was just amazing. Mal smiled to herself, that was bount to be so much fun;

But when she arrived at the spot, there was noone to be seen. Mal climbed off the rocks and walked a few steps in direction of the sea. She could see Auradon from here and she swore that some bright light was coming from this place, but not artificial light. It was more like happiness could actually be seen or something. That was just revolting and gross.  
She looked at the sea, so plain and lifeless. She knew what a wave was thanks to Hook's stories but the magical barrier prevented anything to be there. They were lucky enough that some fishes had been trapped on their side as well so she actually knew what a fish or sea foods tasted like. But she would have paid good money to be able to see and hear the waves.  
Mal waited quite some time, just watching the sky, the sea and Auradon. She was not interested in all the happiness she could see from here but it looked like it would be a fun land to explore. When it became obvious, Evie wouldn't show up, Mal decided to head back. She didn't misbehave today and her mother would know about it, she had to at least steal a few things before going home.

That's when she saw it. There were footprints on the mud and they looked fresh. They were as small as those of a child and Mal was sure that the only other kid crazy enough to be there alone was Evie.  
"Evie!" She called. "I didn't tell my mother I swear!".  
Nothing. Mal had a feeling Evie could hear her. But she could be anywhere and she had the advantage of knowing the field.

Mal took the apple from her bag and raised her hand so anyone around could see it. She waited for a reaction that never came. She felt like she was taming a wild animal and she had to be careful or it would either attack or run away. She went in direction of the rocks and chose a nice big rock that wasn't as dirty as the rest of them, and put the apple there.

She looked around her one last time, then she looked at the apple and blushed. It was just ridiculous, she was about to let a very good apple on a rock for someone that didn't do anything to earn it. And that was the best case scenario, maybe her head was playing her some tricks and Evie hadn't come back since last time, so she would let that perfectly good apple to rot. But no, she could actually feel Evie's eyes on her. It was a weird sensation. Call it faith, instinct, magic or just a hunch but she knew that leaving this apple was either the best or the worst decision or her entire life (no pressure).

She left pretty quickly to be sure she wouldn't change her mind. She just hoped her mother would never know about it because whichever way you'd look at it, it was kind of a nice thing to do.

 

One week later Mal was back and Evie was waiting for her on the big nice rock. Evie would never admitted it but she had been coming everyday since Mal left the apple, just in case. So when she saw Mal, she was pretty eager to talk to her again. She just wanted to know why the daughter of Maleficent, of all people, would be nice to her. And food, she wanted food as well. Being the daughter of a paria wasn't the dream on an island where food was a luxury.

Mal couldn't hide her smile, she knew Evie would be here today. Just like a wild animal, she thought. You bring them food and they show their face. That was comical.  
She was in front of Evie now and she had no idea what to say. And of course Evie wouldn't be the first one doing the talking. She was probably scared as hell to say the wrong thing that would make Mal (and the food) leave for good.

  
Without a word, Mal took out of her bag an apple (of course) but also some other stuff. There were two salade leaves (which probably had been green at some point), three radishes and 6 almonds. Evie's eyes instantly lighted up and without thinking she just tried to reach the food, but Mal pushed her from the rock to the muddy ground. Then she just laughed again. Evie was getting tired of Mal laughing all the time without even explaining why. Mal didn't taddle on her and didn't get her in trouble. Moreover, she seemed to be nice when she left the apple but they were on the Isle so being nice meant there were a catch. Apparently, it was time to collect.

"What do you want from me?" Evie asked sulking.

  
Mal began to play with the food like she played with the apple the first time she came. She threw them in the air and caught them back. "Do you want some?" she asked innocently. Then she just grinned. At nine years old, Mal already had her stupid grin that was about to become her trademark.

  
But Evie wouldn't give her the satisfaction of answering. If Mal thought she would beg for the food then she was wrong. She was used of being hungry anyway. And Mal looked way too smug for her own good. Evie just wanted to punch her grin out of her face. But that wouldn't be lady-like now would it?

"Come on! That is a simple question, do you want it or not?"

  
Still no answer. But dark intent became senseable in the air, Mal noticed and her grin just grew.

  
"I'll take it as a yes" she said with a laugh. Now Evie had her hands in two tied fists and if eyes could kill, Mal would drop dead under her glare. "You just have to earn it" Mal said.

  
"I'm not going to do anything for you!" spat Evie. "I am the daughter of the Evil Queen, I am a Princess and I am not going to be anyone's minion! I am not for sale and certainly not for food!".

  
"Cute" simply said Mal.

  
That was it, Evie was going to break some bones. She was about to jump when she realize that it was probably a trap. She looked around nervously like she expected other kids to beat her up or even Maleficient to show up.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Mal. "Come and get it then".

Evie was confused. Mal wanted to be punched. That was the only explanation. Well, Evie might had been confused but not enough to miss out the opportunity. She was about to beat this stupid grin out of this universe.  
She jumped back on the rock and just ended back on her ass on the ground. Worse, Mal was smiling with all her teeth now. She put the food back in her bag and let the bag on the rock.

Then she jumped on the mud next to Evie. "Try again" she said, helping her stand again. "You beat me, you get the food".

  
Evie nodded, that was simple enough.

  
She threw her fist in direction of Mal's face but it only met the air. She tried again and again, but Mal was too fast. The Princess was furious, she never met anyone that pissed her as much as this purple hair punk. "Ok I get it, you just wanted to prove that you're stronger than me. We can stop now."

  
"I already know I'm stronger than you. I underestimated you last time and you took me be surprise that was all, but it is not what this is about."

  
"Then what is it about?" asked Evie while throwing her foot in Mal's direction. Mal just grabbed it with both her hands and sent Evie on the floor, again.

  
Mal reached to help Evie get on her feet, but the princess pushed her away and got up by herself. Surprisingly Mal looked pleased by the gesture. "You're strong, I saw it in your eyes and I see it now. I want you to become stronger."

  
"Why?" That was more than just bringing an apple, That was too much.

  
"Then that's going to make me stronger".

On this note, she grabbed Evie by the waist, place her leg behind the other girl's body and sent Evie to the ground.  
That was becoming an habit, Evie thought.  
"Get up! Try again"

If you have to know, Evie ended up in the mud seven more times before calling it a day. She was weak, tired and hungry. Besides, she was no longer angry so she lacked the motivation to continue. She was about to leave when Mal asked her "Where are you going?".

  
"I am going home, it is late, I am tired and my mother is going to lecture me for having mud all over my dress."

  
"Come and sit with me" said Mal, gesturing the rock.

  
At some point, Evie would say something about Mal having to stop giving her orders, but not today so she just followed her.  
Even though she won, Mal still gave her the apple (she kind of brought it on purpose), one leaf and three almonds. When Evie asked her why she would do that, Mal just shrugged and said "You eat less than I do, I can't expect you to become stronger if you don't eat".

  
That actually made a lot of sense so Evie didn't feel the need to argue with it. Especially because you just do not upset the girl that gives you food.  
"Does that mean you will be coming back?"

  
"Of course, I'll keep coming back as much as I can without arousing suspicions until I am the strongest person on the Isle."

  
That time it was Evie's time to laugh. Of course Mal would have such grand goal. She decided to tease her a little bit. "What happens if I become the strongest person of the Isle?" she said.

  
Mal just glared at her and said "I won't let it come to that, I'll be careful to kill you before you become too powerful".

Yeah Evie should have expected this answer, but she was still shocked. She was so close to call the whole thing off when she saw the shadow of that stupid grin being back. Mal was messing with her? That looked promising.

And just like that, for the first time in years, Evie had something to look forward to. It was dangerous, her mother wouldn't approve but it was about to be so much fun. She looked at Mal one more time and she looked back at her, she even gave her a genuine smile. When Evie saw the smile, she was sure that yes she was doing this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you to all of you who takes the time to read my story and thank you for the kudos, that means the world to me!
> 
> I know the story is cute for now, Mal and Evie are still "kids" (as much as you can be a kid on the Isle of the Lost). So their view on the world is quite simple.  
> Mal only knows that being weak is not an option and that you have to be mean to those who are. She knows that Evie is not weak and that she can make her stronger. Besides, it's fun to have a secret.  
> Evie's only talked to her mother for years and that's just hell for a kid. Her mother only talks about how she has to be the fairest of them all in order to find a prince, and that's not what a 9-y-o cares about. All she knows is that Mal brings her food and that she has someone to talk to. I'm pretty sure that knowing she matters enough to someone to make them come back again and again makes her feel more alive that her mother saying she's not pretty enough.
> 
> But the thing is, everyone has to grow up at some point and if they don't, the Isle has a way to make them.  
> Speaking of which, some parts of my story may be triggering for some people (I don't know how much as I don't know how detailed it's going to be), but don't worry I'll warn you if that's the case.  
> I just wanted to give you a heads up and to apologize in advance.
> 
> Kisses to all of you

_A few months later _ 7 years ago_

 

" Come on Evie! You're not even trying!" yelled a very frustrated little purple demon to a very frustrated little princess whose ass was on the floor... Again.

Evie was getting tired to this whole situation. She was still happy she found someone to talk to but they were not really talking. Mal would show up, they would fight, Evie would end in the dirt and they would eat. That was it. Evie didn't have a whole load of experience but she was pretty sure a friendship was supposed to be more than that, she wanted more than that. Yeah, she was done. She would not get up until Mal dropped it.

Mal arrived earlier so excited and so late. She just saw two men fight and one of them had a real knowledge about it. It was not about just brute force and throwing and punching. So Mal just stayed and watched and learned. That was Mal for you, she would take any opportunity she could to become stronger.

Once she was confident she got it, she went to show it to Evie. Well, the truth is she went to do it to Evie. That was the only way for them to truly understand it. The hold was: Mal grabbed Evie's neck and squeezed it. Then, when Evie tried to get away, Mal put a hand between her thighs, she let it slide until she could feel her knee and just quickly and strongly pulled it up. Evie lost balance and fell on the ground. But that wasn't all, Mal put Evie face first in the dirt and sat on her back. She put her left arm around Evie's neck and with her left arm she pulled Evie's wrist behind her back and she held long enough to see that Evie couldn't move (or breath for that matters).

That hurt.

And from what Evie understood, it was supposed to hurt a lot more because the victim's arm was not supposed to just be pulled behind their back, it was supposed to be pulled until it broke. Evie was thankful Mal didn't intend to do that to her. Then she wanted to cry because she was not supposed to be thankful for that if they were friends so that meant they were not. Besides, it was not because Mal cared that she didn't break her arm, it was because Evie would be useless otherwise.

They were supposed to do this to each other, but Evie didn't really tried to defend herself and she didn't try to attack Mal.

"Oh for Evil sake just get up already!" said Mal losing patience. She just yanked Evie up.

"No." said Evie putting some space between them.

"Wait, what? Why?" asked a really confused Mal.

"Because I'm tired of this. I don't want to continue to fight with you."

"But how are we supposed to learn how to defend ourselves? Especially against this hold."

"I don't know and I don't care. I don't want you to do this to me anymore and I don't want to do this to you. Besides, noone but you knows I'm here... Noone but you ever hurt me!". The last part was a little more screamed that Evie intended to but whatever.

That scream felt like a punch in Mal's face that made her have three thoughts: The first one was that her mother was right, humans were pathetic and weak. The second one was that she had to fix this because she needed to keep training and she didn't know anyone else who would agree to be repeatedly beat up, especially just for food. The last one was that Evie seemed really sad and that she wanted to put her arms around her (no that's not what a hug is), but when she moved and Evie flinched her little purple heart just broke a little.

Of course, she would never have admitted to this last thought.

But the flinching made her understand something. "Are you afraid of me or are you afraid to hurt me?" she asked.

"Both I guess" said a blushing Evie.

"I know I am here for selfish reason but I thought you had your own reason as well. Look, when I'm strong enough, I'll kill my mother and rule over the Isle, and if you kill your own mother, I'll lift off the ban."

"Wait why do I have to kill my mother?"

"Because, as much as I want you to come back. Lifting the ban for both of you would make me look weak, but the real reason behind the ban is that our mothers hated each other. So, if you kill her, that'll give me a reason to allow you to come back".

That was messed up. Evie could see it, but honestly that was the most exciting thing that happened to her since she was banned. All she had to do was to kill her mother and then she would be free. That was doable.

"But like I said," Mal continued "I'll need you to make me stronger. And if you want to survive on the Isle, especially as fresh meat, you'll have to be stronger as well. But you're right about one thing. Fighting is not enough."

"Ok, so what do I need to do?"

"You need to stop being scared and I'll show you how."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was pretty proud of this chapter until I lost it when my phone just died on me without me having saved it.  
> So I have to admit this one is a little bit different because apparently I can't write the same thing twice. I hope it is still ok.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I didn't actually plan for this to happen but I started writing and I just rolled with it.

"Stop... Being scared?" asked Evie. She could feel the trap closing around her but when she looked in Mal's eyes, she couldn't see any mischief intent. It was like Mal was honest with her or something. But it is not like Evie had a choice, whatever Mal wanted her to do next, she had to do it or she would look weak. By now, she knew that she was better dead than weak if she wanted to be part of Mal's life.

"Do you want me to teach you?". Mal looked at her expectantly.

Evie nodded, Mal took her hand and started to walk. The contact made Evie flinched but it wasn't in a bad way so she didn't do anything to take her hand back. They went to the rocks and Mal made them climb it. At Evie's surprise they didn't stop. They joined a road (again that doesn't deserve to be called like that but whatever) and continued walking. They walked and walked and walked, until Evie stopped. She was white as bones and Mal just noticed how she had been shaking for over 10 minutes.

"Mal... We can't do this. If someone sees me..."

"Don't worry we're almost there" said Mal not letting her finish. She was still holding her hand and she started rubbing her to give her courage. It was awkward and not really gentle but she was just acting on instinct and had no idea what she was doing.

"Where are we going anyway?" asked Evie. If she was dying today because of this, she would so come back to haunt Mal.

"The forest." answered Mal like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

 

For once, the forest deserved to be called like that. There was a part of the Isle that was so full of trees that no light ever went in. No one dared to see what was inside, and there was not really a point to go in anyway. Children used to defy each others to see who could go the deepest and Mal always won. But it wasn't always like that, Mal used to fear this place so much she actually had nightmares about it.

Evie knew about the forest, she tried to go in before her banishment but she was too scared. She hadn't thought of this place for years but that wasn't really a fond memory. "Why are we here?"

"I used to have nightmares of this place when I was five. Let's just say that my mother made sure I stopped."

Well, that was ominous to say the least. But they were here already so Evie had to try whatever was inside Mal's head. She was just scared about the fact that the first person who thought about that was Maleficent. That ought to announce a dreadful time.

Mal opened her bag, left the food and put the bag on Evie's head. She felt her stiffed under her touch so she said "We're here to work on your fear remember?".

And like Evie could actually hear the smirk on Mal's face, she decided to keep her worries to herself. She wanted to spend time with Mal not fighting? Well she got her wish... Except that she was blindfolded and about to enter a haunted forest.

She felt Mal taking back her hand and guiding her and she knew they pasted the first line of trees. And the next ones and the next. They were moving quickly enough for her to trip at almost each step, but Mal wouldn't allow her to fall. Each time she almost ended on the floor, a pair of arm just held her up long enough for her to balance herself. That was new, she thought. She almost felt like Mal cared or it was close enough for a smile to appear on her face. Evie was glad she had the bag on her face because she was not about to explain her thoughts to Mal.

They walked like that for twenty minutes when Mal stopped. She took off the bag from Evie's face and even took the time to straighten her hair as she knew it was important for her princess. THE princess, it was important for the princess.

Except that now that she could see, Evie was just terrified. She felt oppressed by the wide vegetation. It was not green and lightly like she saw in some book. It was dark and mouldy and cold. She couldn't see the sky or where they came from. She hoped Mal remembered the path because she wouldn't be able to even if her life depended on it. Which she was sure was the point of the bag. Besides, wandering in the forest could lead her next to the city and she might be seen. With her blue hair, she would be recognized on the spot.

She didn't dare to look at Mal or to ask her why they where here. Actually she didn't dare to make a sound or a move. But she could feel Mal's eyes on her and for some reason, she felt a little less cold and vulnerable. Was it what Mal was trying to teach her? That she had some kind of power to make the fear go away?

Mal was the first one to break the silence. "You see this tree? It is the biggest and the tallest tree of the forest and I want you to climb on it. I can help you if you want."

Evie didn't need anyone's help and she was determined to prove herself to Mal. That wasn't clear when that became important during this journey, but she knew now that it was the whole point.

"Stop! You're good! You see the branch on your side?" asked Mal while pointing it. "I want you to crawl on it. Then I want you to carefully get up."

"Get... Get up? You mean you want me to stand up on it?" asked a broken voice Evie.

"Sure Eve you can do it don't worry!".

And Evie was blushing. She had no idea why but for Mal to call her like that made her feel like it was all going to be ok. Yes she was going to stand up on a branch far away from the ground in the middle of a dark forest in the middle of an island where any living soul could mean her death, but Mal called her Eve so nothing bad could happen to her. That was just science.

So ok she was standing. What now?

"What do I have to do now?" she asked out loud.

"Nothing. Just breath."

So it was what Evie did. She closed her eyes to breath but opened them but she almost fell. No closing her eyes. Bad for balance. Got it.

So instead she just breathed while looking around her. And she remembered where she was but Mal wasn't close enough for her power to be working so Evie was scared as hell.

Mal appeared to read her mind because she asked "Are you scared?".

"Yes" managed to answer Evie. Her legs were starting to shake and she didn't care if she looked brave enough.

"Good" said Mal. "Like I said, when I was five I used to have nightmares, lots of them and most were about this place. When I told my mother, she said that the daughter of Maleficent couldn't afford to have fear, any kind of fear. No nightmares, no fear being awake, no fear about a situation. She forbade me to fear hurting people or to fear being hurt. That made me useless. So she brought me here, she made me climb the tree and she waited for me to be scared enough and she told me to stay put and then she left".

"Wait what?" asked Evie. The similarities between Mal's story and her predicament were way too important to be ignored. "You are not going to leave me here, are you?". At this point, she knew it was just wishful thinking but she still hoped Mal would just told it was just a joke. A years long joke.

"Yes I am, and perhaps I'll be back, perhaps I won't. My mother left me here for a week or so. But don't worry, we don't see the sky and it is always dark around here so you won't see the difference."

"Mal! Don't you dare do that to me! Mal!" yelled Evie.

But Mal was already walking away. "Stay where you are, if you move I won't be able to find you. And stay on the branch, if I come back and you're not there, I won't show myself."

"Just wait! What is the point of this?"

"You scared, and you're about to be for a very long time. The only way to stay sane is to stop being scared. Besides, the worse thing that could happen to you is death so it is not that big of a deal. You'll see". On this note, she ran.

Evie knew, Mal ran for her not being able to follow her. And that worked. Besides, going in the direction Mal left was pointless, it was probably just a ruse and some kind of trap was waiting for her.

So she put herself back in a good position. She was still standing but she had a better balance. Then she started to think. How could a mother leave a five-years-old alone in the woods for a week? Was it even only a week or was it Mal's way of reassuring her? Were there animals in this forest?

Those kind of thoughts occupied her for one hour or two, but her body quickly began to protest. She had pain in her feet, her legs, her arms, her neck. She was thirsty and hungry and she would give anything to go back in her bed. Was her mother worried about her? Was she going to search for her? How far would she go? Ok thinking about all of that was pointless.

She wanted to pee. That was good. She could do something about that. Wait no, she couldn't just pee from her tree, it wasn't very lady-like. But who would see her though? She just had to decide it was ok and it would be.

She was starting to get it. She could chose to think what she wanted and she could put some thoughts aside. How long was she here? Hours? Was it night? Damn forest without any light.

How long was she supposed to stay here? Let's say Mal stayed a week. Was she going to put her through the same thing? Longer to prove she was wicker than her mother? Nope, not useful.

 

After who knows how long, she heard a noise so she opened her eyes (she learned that after a while her legs wouldn't move no matter what). She would be scared but the only thing it could be was an animal and it wouldn't climb in the tree. It could be Maleficent for whatever reason but she was in pain and she couldn't bring herself to care. So she waited until she saw a purple stain coming out for the bushes.

Mal came back for her. It was not like she doubted it but at some point she wasn't even sure of her own name so how could Mal remember her?

"You're back" Evie said weakly.

"Of course I'm back silly" said Mal with a genuine smile.

She didn't left time to Evie to say anything else, she climbed the tree so quickly she was just a purple blur and was next to Evie in a second. She grabbed her in a gentle way, it was way more gentle than anything thing she ever done in her entire life, like she was afraid to break Evie.

Evie felt her legs protest a little bit, but still managed to follow Mal to the ground. She had to try several time before she was able to stand by herself without her legs given up on her. When she did, she looked at Mal and jumped into her arms. They were both surprised by the gesture at first but they both went with it. So they hugged, hard, like the world depended on it to continue spinning.

"We're the only two people to have gone through that" told her Mal.

She just nodded in her neck. They had a connection deeper than the secret they shared. Besides, now that Mal was back her power was back too and she was so warm. Evie didn't know if that experience taught her to vanquish fear, but if what she felt was any indication, it taught her that she would trust Mal no matter what.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me this long to update.  
> I'm starting to get worried I'm not going to finish before Descendants 2 airs. If that happens we'll have to choose if I just ignore it or adapt my story.  
> Tell me what you think about it.

 

The trip in the forest really helped Elvie. It made her more focused and determined than ever before. And the prospect of ruling the island at Mal's side was her new goal. Well, that wasn't the offer, Mal just said she would stop her banishment if Evie killed her mother. But she was a princess so she wouldn't settle for less than ruling the island. Her mother always told her that she needed to find a prince but no prince would ever come here if she didn't make the Isle of the Lost more habitable and welcoming. Besides, she didn't mind the idea of sharing power with Mal, they just kind of worked. As long as Mal thought she had the upper hand, Evie knew she could make her do a lot. The purple fairy had that kind of protective side concerning the blue princess that was just adorable.

But Evie would never ever ever say that out loud. Mal would just eat her alive if she knew someone thought she was something else than pure evil. So the plan was: be stronger, kill mother, rule with Mal, make the Isle their kingdom, find a prince and go to Auradon to be a queen leaving the Isle to Mal. There were worst plans.

So she trained, a lot. At day, she would practice being the fairest of them all with her mother. Not like before when she just wanted to get it over with but like it was all that mattered to her (which her mother was so pleased to notice). Then, some days she would fight with Mal. Some nights, she would sneak off her "castle" and go to the forest alone. She had this faith than nothing bad would happen to her because Mal would find her if it did. The worst thing that happened was when she got lost for two days, but she had been fine and hadn't needed Mal to find her way back. She had just been afraid of her mother because it had been the second time she disappeared without a word. But it seemed that the Evil Queen was more and more lost in her mind because she believed that Evie had been with a prince or something.

She wasn't scared anymore, not from the forest anyway nor the darkness of the night. She wasn't scared of being hurt, and she fought harder and harder still, which Mal seemed to really enjoy. Evie knew she deserved the food more and more.

Her body was changing as well. Her hair was softer and her blue was lighter. She couldn't see her rib sticking out of her skin anymore, which was great. Her mother always told her that princes didn't want skeletons as wives. The muscles on her arms and thighs were stronger and prettier as well. She didn't have breast yet but she knew she was growing well.

They were 10 now and they still saw each other regularly.

Mal seemed to understand Evie's need to talk, so it is what she did, some of the times. She talked about what was happening on the Island, she said it was because Evie needed to know everyone if she wanted to be able to come one day. But sometimes she wasn't careful and she said something personal. Like the day she talked about her father, the human she never knew and that her mother despised so much. Or the day she almost cried (even if of course Mal never cries) because her mother said she was just like him, weak, and that she would never be worthy of her legacy. That day, they didn't fight. They just sat on their rock and watched the ocean. They staid there long enough to see the sundown and it was beautiful. Evie thought Mal's hair was perfect in this light. And Mal thought she liked the way Evie's eyes just shined like that. None of them wanted to move or even talk because the moment was just the way it was supposed to be. Mal didn't want to go back but it wasn't like Evie could just invite her for a sleepover, so they parted ways. But not before Evie squeezed Mal's hand in her own. She wanted more, but Mal couldn't handle to much softness. However, the sweet gesture still brought shy smiles on both their faces so it made the evening less painful.


	6. Chapter 6

One day something unexpected happened.

They were training like they used to, when Evie grabbed Mal by the neck and made her trip. Mal lost her balance and took Evie with her. They both fell and rolled in the dirt to be the one to pin the other on the floor. And at Mal's surprised, Evie won.

She was sitting on top of Mal and managed to block her arm behind her head. The purple demon started to kick the air with her legs and to struggle violently in the hope to save her wounded ego. But it only led to Evie tightening her hold until she was almost completely stretch out on top of Mal.

The princess was so pleased with herself, she liked the way Mal giggled under her and the fact that she could not admit defeat. For Evie that meant that she was becoming stronger, she knew that winning once didn't mean anything but that was a start. Now she knew without a doubt that she could do it. All she had to do now was to calm her breathing if she wanted to look cool but it would be a lot easier to do that if Mal could just calm down for one minute.

"Mal... Stop, please!" she whispered in her ear.

Then, surprisingly Mal just stopped. She was looking at her so strangely that Evie couldn't understand what it meant. It was like she was seeing her for the first time. But before Evie could ask anything, Mal's eyes just changed colour. They became the most glorious green Evie had ever seen.

The princess must have had a reaction to that change because Mal saw it. She looked so embarrassed like Evie wasn't supposed to see that, and she tried to run but Evie wouldn't let go.

"I'm sorry" said Mal.

"For what?"

Mal didn't answer right away because she thought the answer was obvious but as Evie delicately lighten her hold to let her sit (even though she was still on top of her) she understood that the princess had no idea of what Mal was supposed to be sorry about.

"I am not supposed to show them" continued Mal. "Not until people are genuinely afraid of me and not just because I am a monster".

"You're not a monster" whispered Evie. "I'm not afraid of you, not because I don't respect you. I have so much respect and admiration for you. And when I am with you I feel safer than I ever felt and I don't even care that we are on a dirty island full of homicidal maniacs as long as we are together".

"I don't... What?". Mal was so confused, noone ever told her things remotedly as nice and she was feeling so much things at once that she was completely lost. She wanted to be angry because Evie wasn't afraid of her, who was determined to prove that fact by staying sited on her legs. But Mal couldn't bring herself to care because Evie was looking at her with such intensity that for once she didn't want her to fear her. And she thought that Evie was right to feel safe, because she would do anything to protect her. But a vilain was not supposed to feel this way, you don't protect and you don't admire. That's basically Evil 101. "But mother said that if anyone would see my eyes before I am ready, they would kill me".

"Do you really think I would do anything to hurt you?"

"I... I don't know... I think I am supposed to say yes. Because, you know, I can't trust you" said Mal blushing furiously.

Evie almost got upset until she stopped on a detail. "You're supposed to say yes? OK, but what do you really want to say?".

No answer.

The princess had known Mal long enough to know that she wouldn't get one. She probably should have dropped it. Mal knew she wasn't afraid of her eyes so Evie could have let it go. But she really wanted Mal to admit that she cared about her so she continued. "Well, I am never going to hurt you, not because of your eyes or of anything that makes you who you are. I am going to be there for you, I am going to make you feel as safe as you make me. You know what? As long as I am on the Isle I am going to make you my prince!".

That was supposed to be sweet. For Evie, a prince was the goal, the one person who is the most important person of the world. Except that it had a really different meaning for Mal. She got up like the ground was on fire and like Evie wasn't holding her anymore, she fell on the floor.

"A PRINCE?!!" screamed an outraged Mal. "That you're not afraid of me is bad enough but you want me to be good? Are you serious?!! Like I am going to fight off vilains on my white horse?"

"What? Are you crazy? I said a prince not a fucking white knight! Look I am sorry, noone taught me how to be nice and sensible, I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted you to know that I am going to be there for you, but yeah ok you are not a prince. Noted".

Mal's anger vanished in an instant. Evie just cursed. She was covered in dirt, her hair was all messed up and she cursed. That was so not lady like, and yet she had never been as cute.

"Thanks Princess " Mal said before laughing her heart out. She was soon joined by Evie and all the tension disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am probably going to post another chapter later today or tomorrow.  
> Fair warning: it is going to be the last cute one before a while.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah like I said, last cute moments... Sorry guys!
> 
> I just wanted to thank you all for reading my shit, it means a lot. I love you all!

 

5 years after the Banishment _ 5 years ago

 

For her 11th birthday, Mal could not picture anyone she rather spent it with more than Evie. So she decided to go see her before she had to return to parade for her mother. She knew she would not be able to stay very long without people beginning to be suspicious, but for her birthday she had access to way more food than usual and she just wanted to share it with her friend (what? nonsense she was Evil she did not do friend).

She didn't tell Evie it was her birthday, she just told her to be there earlier and that she wouldn't be able to stay for long. And Evie complied, as usual.

When she arrived, Evie was waiting for her and the princess flashed her the shiniest smile ever. Well to be fair, Evie had a rare talent when it came to smiles. Mal was sure Evie found a way to use magic and used it on her. It was the only explanation for the way her stomach twisted that much or the way she couldn't stop smiling back. She's pretty sure this was some kind of hypnosis like Jay's father used to do. But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to care;

Her bag was way too heavy that day and Evie seemed to have noticed because she was next to her in a heartbeat. "What's this for?" she asked.

"Just a little something. I thought we both earned some treats" replied Mal.

"If you do not want me to think as you as my prince maybe you should not be that thoughtful" said Evie with a light laugh, her hands helping Mal putting the bag down.

"Oh for Evil's sake just eat and shut up!" 

That ought to stop Evie in her tracks. "You mean like, without having to fight for it? Like a gift?".

"I mean yeah, well no... Or maybe? I don't know... I just wanted to... You know..." said a blushing Mal. And blushing was kind of an euphemism, her cheeks were reaching a shade even darker than her hair.

Evie smiled at her and pretended she didn't see the embarrassment of her companion. She really wanted to say thank you but she knew better. She opened the bag and she saw wonders in it. There were small breads, apples (of course), some ham and something that was like caramel. She'd never eaten caramel before.

That was nice. She didn't care what Mal thought about being evil and stuff, but that... Yeah that was nice.

She took one and put it delicately in her mouth while Mal was waiting nervously for her reaction.

"Oh sweet things! That is amazing!" she squealed. Her eyes began to shine like they had hidden parts of the sun inside and her face had the most beautiful look of wonder on it.

Her reaction was everything Mal hoped for and she couldn't bring herself to stop her laugh before it was out of her lips. But that wasn't a bad laugh, on the contrary, it was warm and fuzzy. Once again Evie felt safer than ever.

"How is this possible?" she asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" asked a confused Mal.

"You know. I might be in exil and all but I doubt that the Isle became richer and that it is easy to find caramel. But you brought several of them like no one is going to notice it is missing. And also the bread and the apples. I know you and Maleficient are respected but how did you do it?" she asked. Then like a thought just made her lost her calm, she jumped right next to Mal and brought her hand on the other one's forearm. "Are you going to be in trouble?" she asked worriedly.

"No!" laughed Mal. "Don't worry about me, I didn't do anything. I mean, it was easy really. There was a whole lot of food around for my... Well for my birthday".

"Wait! It is your birthday? I am so sorry I think I was supposed to know that. But I did not and I do not have a gift for you". Evie was frankly panicking like it was actually really important or something.

Mal  didn't understand. For her, a birthday was about showing off and proving you are more important than anyone else, and she was not interested in doing that with Evie. But for the princess, it looked like it meant something else altogether, like she missed an opportunity to show that she cared. And for once, Mal wasn't pissed by the prospect of someone caring for her.

"I will find something I promise!" pleaded Evie. "Come back tomorrow and I will have something ready for you!".

"It's ok Princess" said Mal. She wasn't laughing because it wasn't funny. She felt really weird in her stomach and her entire body if she wanted to be honest. "Just come here". She didn't know what pushed her to do it but she took Evie in her arms and brought her close. Like really close. Ok that probably qualified as a hug but whatever. It felt great and even more so when she felt Evie's arm circling her and pulling her closer even though that wasn't possible. She felt Evie moving her head then her breath on her neck.... Then she wasn't feeling anything at all except her skin being on fire but like in a good way. Ok, Evie should really stop with the magic thing, or maybe not because truth be told she kind of liked it.

Then two things happened almost at the same time.

First, Mal had a thought, a really scary one. She thought that she didn't really saw the point in hurting people and being evil because nothing would ever feel as good as being with Evie.

The second thing was a noise that startled her.

The noise came from behind her, on the top of all the rocks, exactly where she just came from. Her blood was like ice in her veins but she looked anyway just in time to see a man (if you could call him like that) looking at them. She jumped away from Evie like she was made of electricity and risked shocking her to death.

Evie was surprised at first. But when they both looked up they saw said man runny away in the direction of the city.

None of them dared to speak. Evie because she didn't know how she was supposed to react, and Mal because she had been caught. She hadn't been careful and one of her mother's minions followed her. She hadn't been careful and she put both Evie and herself in danger. It was her turn to panic and it wasn't something Mal was great at. 

She became so white it worried Evie that came back as close as possible. The princess caressed the fairy's face like she wanted to gently see if she was warm but also to confort her. 

Evie was close enough for Mal to feel her breath on her skin as well as her hands on her face and her neck. But it didn't help at all. Maybe Evie was too afraid to use magic or maybe Mal was finally strong enough to break free but the gesture wasn't calming her at all, quite the contrary. She pushed back Evie so strongly that the princess fell off the rocks.

Evie froze. She never saw Mal like that and she didn't know what Mal would be capable of in this state. But the fairy seemed to forget about her and starting passing in place. She was full blown panicking in a way even Evie wasn't familiar with. She knew she had to get to Mal before she exploded, so she had to talk to her. "Who was he?".

Her voice brought Mal's attention back to her long enough for her to scream "Shut up!". It was definitely not as sweet as last time. It was harsh and full of spite, something Evie would not have thought would be coming off Mal's lips and directed at her. She wanted to be supportive but she didn't know how to be if Mal wouldn't let her. Then she wanted to be mad at Mal for not letting her and for treating her like that, but she just couldn't. She fought the urge to hug her again and to promise that every was going to be fine because she couldn't do that. And it was killing her.

Without another word, Mal started to climb back the rocks, leaving her bag, the food and Evie without even a glance.

Which of course wasn't going to work for the princess. "Wait!" she screamed at her. It was a royal order, you could actually hear it in her voice, and it was strong enough to make Mal stop. "Don't push me away! Please!". That wasn't an order, that was a plea. And given the look Mal sent her way, she would have preferred an order.

"Do not talk to me!" she spat at her. "Everything is your fault! All of it!". The screams were stronger and stronger. "You made me soft!". Mal was climbing down now, she was coming at Evie. She put her hand around Evie's throat and squeezed slightly. "You made me soft." She was whispering now. "And now, because of you I'm going to die. Everything is your fault, you should have invited me at your stupid birthday!".

Evie wasn't fighting back. She wouldn't give Mal the satisfaction. A few seconds later, she felt like she could breath again and she realized Mal let go of her throat. She made the mistake of assuming that meant she was calmer. "Don't worry, everything is going to be ok". She took a step forward and reached to touch Mal. "As long as we are together...".

She never could finish her sentence as a fist met her mouth with enough violence to sent her face first in the dirt.

As soon as Evie hit the ground, Mal left without looking back, not even once just to see if the princess was ok.

If she had she would have seen that Evie was in fact not ok. She was bleeding and she hit her head in the fall. That Mal would never know. The same way Evie would never see the tears wetting the fairy's face.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for all the mistakes I make. English is obviously not my first language but honestly I'm just a bit lazy. Anyway, I'm sorry and I'll try to do better.
> 
> I also want to thank you all for reading, leaving kudos and comments. You have no idea how much that means to me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy my story.
> 
> We'll have a bit a time jump and I'm confident you'll see where I'm getting at.  
> I know everything I want my story to be but if you want to see something feel free to ask and I'll do my best to write it. 
> 
> Love you all

 

Five years after The Punishment - Now

 

Mal froze right there in the middle of the street, which took Jay off guard as he had kept walking. He had to take several steps back when he realized Mal didn't intent of moving again. He was used of her being irrational but he had no idea what was wrong this time. He only said something about school and he was surprised Mal was actually listening.

"What do you mean there going to be a new student today?" finally asked the demon fairy.

So it really was about that. Ok now, Jay was just confused. "Well yeah, how did you not know? They told us a week ago".

Nothing. No answer.

That was the exact moment Jay knew this day and possibly the entire week was about to suck, and he wondered how much Mal would hurt him before killing him if he went on a sabbatical (yes it was definitively running but he was not ashamed of it, cowards lived longer than fools). "That's not a bad thing you know, I mean a bit of fresh meat can't hurt. We've seen the same faces forever".

"Yes..."

Finally, an answer.

"We've seen the same faces, do you know why?" she asked. "Because we are on a stupid island surrounded by a stupid magic barrier that stops anyone from getting in or out from said stupid island!".

So yeah, Mal was pissed, way more pissed than he thought. Her voice kept getting higher and people started noticing. It was not that Jay didn't care why Mal was like that. It was more a self preservation instinct kicking in and telling him he needed to calm her down. If she lost control she would hurt someone just because they stared too long. He just needed to calm her before her eyes turned green. "You know what? Let's skip school today. It's not like we actually need to learn how to be bad. I'm the greatest thief ever and you're... Well you're you."

That usually ought to do the trick, except that Mal wasn't listening at all anymore. "That means that whoever is starting school today was on the island all along and there is only one person that fits and that's the blueberry princess".

"Oh yes, I think they said something about her being a princess". Ok now, his interest totally disappeared. That was Mal doing Mal, they would end up with one more person to hate and one more person that feared them. "Why do we care again?".

And here comes the glare. He was used to that glare but he was missing something. There was a whisper in the back of his head like a long lost memory. Something about a missing princess and a dragon. No, she wasn't missing, she ran? Yes! Something involving Mal and a cake... What? That didn't make sense how would Mal, a princess, a dragon and a cake fit together in the same story. His mind told him he was close but that thing happened so long ago. They were like what? 6 years old? Oh yeah! A birthday! The birthday of what's her face who was stupid enough to not invite Mal so she had been exiled by Maleficent.

Wait... "Don't tell me you're still pissed about the birthday thing, that was 10 years ago". He knew that wasn't the right thing to say the moment he said it, but he was surprised and it sort of came out on its own?

Mal seemed to struggle to know if she should punch him or not but she just shrugged and started moving again. "Come, we're late".

"Good" he answered. And that was it (or so he thought).

 

 

Why would Evie ever come back? Mal couldn't understand. No one in their right mind would come back after getting exiled by Maleficent. But maybe that was the problem, too long passed on their own made them lose touch with reality. Maybe Evie and her mother were batshit crazy by now? That would not be surprising, her mother was already starting to lose it last time Evie talked about her.

No, Mal was not supposed to think about that anymore.

All that mattered was what was supposed to happen now. Surely her mother had to know about that if the school warned them two weeks ago, but she didn't do anything to stop them so she had to have some kind of plan. A test. Yes, it was surely a test. Mal never got her revenge about the birthday thing. Her mother probably thought it was time for her to step up and punish the princess by herself now.

Ok, she could do this. Fuck, she really wished she paid more attention in school. She would have known about Evie's return and she would have had something ready for a special welcome.

She thought about it all the way to the school, then she thought about it during class and she would have kept thinking about it if someone hadn't interrupted the class by coming very late. When the door opened, Mal's heart stopped a beat when she spotted blue hair standing in the door frame.

She was so focused on the revenge part of Evie coming back that she totally didn't think about Evie actually coming back and having to see her everyday.

Once she realized she was holding her breath, she had to force herself to stay calm as the princess came in. Evie looked at her and flashed her a giant smile that quickly disappeared when Mal just stared back at her. So the princess walked past her and went to sit in the back with the strange kid that looked like a dog. What was his name again? Oh yeah Carlos, she went to sit with Carlos.

Mal didn't like the way she was feeling, she really wanted to throw up and she was so angry. She needed Jay to calm her but his stupid ass didn't have an Evil Quotient high enough to be in this class.

Ok, focus. Revenge. She could do this.

She quickly looked behind her shoulder at the blue hair princess and the black and white kid, and just like that she knew. She knew what she was supposed to do. If getting back was what her mother wanted her to do, it was actually what she was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept writing in the past tense even though the story takes place now. I hope it's not weird, if it is just tell me and I'll change it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble writing this chapter, I don't know why. I hope it doesn't completely suck.

By the end of the hour, Mal had finished her plan. It had several steps: it began by a party and it ended with the princess's death by the end of the year.

She moved quickly out of the class, just so she didn't seem to be waiting for the person she's been obsessing over for the entire class (well, for all her life but who is counting?) and she met with Jay who was waiting for her. When he saw her, he started walking toward their next class but she stopped him with a glance. He knew that look. Trouble was coming.

Mal saw the blue hair princess and the white and black weredog talking so, ignoring Evie, she went to talk to Carlos. "Hi Carlos! How are you?" she asked with the biggest smile she had.

Carlos wasn't expecting that at all, he was so startled that he jumped out of his skin before being able to use his voice again. "Who? Me? I'm... I'm fine... Thanks... Why are you talking to me?".

The fact that he was still alive was a mystery to Mal. Sure he was smart and knew how to build pretty much anything, but she never knew someone as frightened as him. "Why would am I not be talking to you?" she laughed. "Look you're one of the smartest people around so I figured you could join Jay and I, you would be protected and noone would ever mess with you again".

Carlos had a feeling that day, or even that conversation, wasn't done surprising him. For now, he wasn't going to point out that Mal and Jay were also part of the people who were messing with him on a regular basis. "In exchange for what?" he simply asked.

"You see? Smart!" Mal praised him "I wasn't really listening but someone told me you're mother was not in your house this week-end".

"Yeah so? Do you want to know where she's going to be?" asked Carlos clearly not seeing why that would be relevant.

"I couldn't care less" she snorted. "Friday night, your house, tell everyone".

"You mean, for a party? That I would organize?"

"Of course dummy!" she laughed again.

She got really really close to him and whispered in his ear "don't disappoint me and we're going to be really great friends".

Then she was about to walk away when she appeared to remember Evie's presence. "Oh and just so we're clear, you're not invited". The message was clear, not only Evie was not invited to the party but if Carlos wanted to be friend with Mal and Jay, he would need to ditch the princess.

The entire scene just confused Jay because that wasn't possible that Mal was still upset about the birthday thing, but here she was acting all bitchy about it. That wasn't the Mal he knew.

 

 

The next day, Evie got up early. She was pissed that Mal was pretending to be upset about not having been invited to a birthday that happened 10 years ago. She had no idea what was the problem but she knew it had to be more than that. So, she promised herself she wouldn't push her, she was not going to go to that party if that was what Mal wanted, but she was not going to give up either. She had noone else, except Carlos, maybe.

So she went out of her way to find an apple. It had been a long time since she had seen Mal last but she knew the fairy would remember.

They didn't share 1st period so Evie had to wait a little. But for the next class both Mal and Jay were already sited when she entered the room. So without a word she put the apple on Mal's desk and walked away.

 

Jay saw the princess coming in the room and putting an apple on Mal's desk. He couldn't help but frowned because that was either stupid or crazy. Mal clearly showed she didn't like Evie so anyone with even half a brain would lay low. But no, the blue hair girl just decided to offer an apple to her nemesis, just because. Besides, Mal didn't even like apples. He was sure she would rather starve to death than eating an apple. He never knew why but she really had strong reactions about it.

Strong yes, but he never saw her like that...

Once she noticed the fruit and saw who put it there, she became so tense, she looked around like she was afraid of being caught. That was when she met his eyes. She noticed he saw everything, she looked at the apple again and back at him. Then, without him knowing what happened Mal's eyes turned green.

Oh Oh. That was bad. She usually had more control, that really was bad. What was he missing in that story?

He wanted to call to make sure she was ok, but there was no way he would catch her attention right now. And it seemed that the entire class of students had the same thought because they were almost too scared to breath. Mal's green eyes were famous and people would do anything to not be their target.

So he watched. He watched as Mal took the apple, stood up and walked toward Evie. He watched as she squeezed the apple until it was completely mashed then threw it on the princess' desk. Then he watched until the purple dragon walked (almost ran) out of the deadly quiet room. He watched until all the eyes were on him as he was supposed to explain whatever happened. If wasn't in the habit of explaining anything but he would have liked being able to. The last thing he watched was Evie with ice in her eyes looking straight ahead, completely focused on the teacher's desk. Knowing he wouldn't know anything more there, he ran out after Mal.

He wasn't going to ask her. There was no point, he knew she wouldn't answer. But he could help her break things, Mal always liked it. That used to solve all their problems.

 

 

Ok so now Evie was more than pissed. She was all about earning forgiveness for whatever Mal was angry about but she just realized that Mal was just going to ignore the fact that they used to be friends.

So in turn, Evie ignored everyone. All the curious looks sent in her way, all the half questions. She wasn't listening anything the teachers were saying, she only stayed because she had no idea were Mal would be outside of the school. She waited for several classes, then she waited during lunch breach. She didn't mind waiting, she knew Mal had to come back before the end of the day or that meant that she admitted defeat. Evie still had to wait half of the afternoon until she spotted her in the hallway.

Without thinking she ran to Mal screaming "What are you playing at?".

"Screw you!" Mal was definitively surprised but she didn't jump, she was to pissed for that.

"Are you just going to ignore what happened between us? You disappeared on me and now I don't even exist? Is that it?" asked Evie.

She wasn't screaming anymore but she didn't need to. Everyone was listening and judging by the look Mal sent us, she was going to kill her just for that.

Jay felt the change in the air so he grabbed Mal and Evie's arms and pulled them into the closest room he could find. Luckily for them or for whoever might have been inside, it was empty. He knew the students valued their lives so they wouldn't try to overhear them. "Ok, explain. Now" she ordered but both girls stayed quiet. "Really? You're ready to make a scene in front of everyone but none of you can explain to me what the problem is?".

Mal wasn't going to answer, or acknowledge their existence it appeared so Evie started talking.

She talked about that stupid birthday. She talked about her exile and how lonely she had been. Then she talked about Mal, about how that had been the best time of her life, about how the fairy made her strong, about the food. She talked about everything up until the point of Mal leaving after the minion and never coming back again. She ended talking about how she had been so scared that Mal had been killed up until the moment she realized that if Maleficent had killed her own daughter, the princess would also have died.

More Evie was talking and more Mal's eyes were changing, they were greener and greener. Jay knew Evie noticed but she didn't seem to care or at least she wasn't showing her fear. Jay couldn't help but admire the little princess.

However, without any warning (even though in retrospect Jay should have known, the eyes were a pretty good give away), at the exact moment Evie finished talking, Mal jumped on her. She was about to sent her flying against the wall but Evie countered her and they both fell on the floor.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still plan on finishing this story before Descendants 2 airs. Maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't. All I know is that I'll update a bunch of chapters quickly so I hope it won't be confusing for anyone.
> 
> I know the party is not supposed to go like this in the book but it is my story and I do what I want.

Right before Mal jumped on her, Evie noticed a change in Jay's behaviour. It was like he was just understanding something important, and Evie could bet her life on the fact that the change was the reason for Mal's outburst.

On the other side of the room, Jay didn't move and frankly, he wouldn't move for all the gold of Auradon. Firstly because two girls fighting are super hot if you asked him. And more importantly because he learnt a long time ago to not upset Mal when she was angry. That was basic knowledge on the Isle but Evie didn't seem to have gotten the memo. He had no idea of who the princess was deep down but if she was anything like Mal, he was sorry to be in the same room as them.

Evie ended up pulling away and took several steps back. Her intent was only to catch a breath and have more perspective to know what to do, but Mal took it as a forfeit. The dragon looked at the princess with all the despisal she had. "I know I have to see your face in school because we have class together but if you know what's good for you, you'll stay the hell away from me!" she spat. "And you'll never speak to me again, ever!".

On this note she turned her back on Evie like she didn't think she was a threat and walked toward the door. Jay ran to open it for her (just to be sure she wouldn't change her mind in the few seconds it would take her to open the door), but she still stopped to look at Evie. "If you come at Carlos' tomorrow, I'll kill you. You've been warned. I'll make sure noone ever talks to you even your new boyfriend".

"Carlos can decide who his friends are by himself" said Evie with all the confidence she didn't have.

"If you care about him, you'll let him go. You know what? You should go back on your side of the Isle, you're not welcomed here. Or even better, get lost in the forest and stay there".

Not leaving time for Evie to answer, Mal left the room.

 

******************************

 

Carlos was proud of himself. If he knew what happy meant, he could almost say he was happy. Let's just say that for once he wasn't unhappy.

The party was great and nobody messed with him yet. Only Mal seemed to be bored out of her mind. She was waiting for something, it was obvious in the way she kept watching out the door. Jay had quickly seen her mood and had disappeared almost as soon as the party started just so he could actually enjoy the party (and the girls).

Despites the warnings ringing in the back of his head, Carlos decided to check on Mal (not because he was worried about her, just because it didn't matter the number of people who enjoyed his party, the only opinion that mattered was the only one that wasn't having fun).

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" she shrugged.

"I don't know you looked..."

The glance she shot her his way made him shut the fuck up.

She looked at him thoughtfully for a while. "What's your deal with Evie anyway?" she asked. "Are you friends or something?".

"Hum... No? I mean yes, she's good company". He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, but the frown on her face made him think it wasn't the right answer.

"Yeah ok whatever" she said. "Just leave me the fuck alone so I can start enjoying myself at this stupid party".

Yeah, definitively the wrong thing to say.

He watched her take another glass of alcohol and walked over to the door. If he had to guess he would say she was sulking for whatever reason (well that's not true because he valued his life and he would never say that out loud).

 

**************

 

Mal only took another glass just to be sure she wouldn't have to come back inside the house anytime soon.

She just needed some air for whatever reason, so she walked and walked until she could actually feel the sea in the air.

There was something familiar about it. Like a dream you had once forgotten then you suddenly remembered and you realized that it never was a dream to begin with but a memory. She looked around her and saw some rocks that looked familiar as well. She couldn't quite place the feeling. Then she recognized the place, she hadn't been there in years and she was pretty sure she'd never seen it at night but yeah that was it.

She felt something cold in the back of her neck but there was nothing when she touched it. Fear it was fear, she was terrified. "Breath Mal just fucking breath" she ordered to herself. "You have no reason to be scared. Besides you don't get scared remember?". Surprisingly, that appeared to do the trick as her breathing started slowing down.

That was when she heard it.

"I knew you would come" said a voice coming from the rocks.

"And fuck" cursed Mal to herself.

Just like that she saw Evie climb down and walked in her direction like she own the beach. Why can't this princess understand something as easy as _leave me alone_? Just as Mal thought that, her eyes started greening in the dark. She probably looked like a cat from hell but she didn't care. She wanted to be left alone, she knew it was just a question of time before Evie's magic touched her again, and she wasn't ready. She didn't want to fight it anymore but she couldn't let go. She knew she wouldn't survive it this time. Her princess just had to leave her alone, that shouldn't be this difficult to understand.

"You know I have never been scared or your eyes, right?" teased Evie.

Of course she was too stupid to be scared by a threat that scared off half of the Isle. Mal thought about the frightened little girl she took in the forest. She missed her, that girl would have been easy to send off. But the declaration was enough to make her stop and her eyes went back to their original color.

Evie took it as a sign that she could keep coming without risking her life and she couldn't help a huge grin coming to her face. "I never stopped coming here" she said. "At first, I used to come everyday because I was so sure you would come back, I would wait hours and hours. I waited for weeks like that. It actually took me three or four months to admit to myself that you wouldn't. But still, I kept coming here, not everyday, just when I wanted to breath because I was suffocating or just when I wanted to think without being disturb by my mother. If I'm being honest, that place is the only reason I haven't completely lost my mind yet".

Mal stayed quiet. She didn't know why Evie was telling her that but she wanted her to stop. She needed her to stop. She looked toward where she came from, feeling like she could just leave. Running was bad (and not in a good way) but staying was worse. She felt stupid with both of her glasses in her hands so she held out one of them to Evie (just because she felt stupid, that was the only reason).

"Thank you" said Evie softly. And with all the ease of something done a thousand of times, she went to sit on their rock, the one they used to share so much.

On top of everything, Mal started to feel awkward standing by herself. That was really starting to bother her, all the bad and confusing feelings she felt since the princess came back into her life. She really needed to put an end to this. But it was probably too late for that, or maybe the alcohol was helping Evie's magic because the next thing she knew, she was sited on the rock as well.

They stayed like that for a while, until Evie realized Mal would stay like that forever and would never be bothered to open her mouth. So she took a big breath and she began a conversation long overdue. "What happened? All those years ago, why did you... Why did you leave me?".


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so be careful that's two chapters in a row.
> 
> I cut here because it was kind of a long chapter but also because Mal is going to tell her story. Fair warning, that's not a good one. I told you (I think) that there was going to be a part that is not pretty. That's the one.
> 
> I don't know what qualify as triggers, I just don't want to risk upsetting or hurting anyone of you. 
> 
> Physical and sexual abuses are going to be mentioned. If it is a trigger for you or if you're not confortable with it please do not read this chapter. I'm going to write a summary in the notes at the end for those who want.
> 
> Please take care of yourselves.

Evie wanted to be angry, she really did. Her only friend abandoned her years ago, and now that they found their way back to each others, said friend was hell-bent on ruining her life. But she couldn't be angry, she was hurt yes but something was telling her that is wasn't Mal's fault. That her friend must have had a good reason.

Mal had to feel the pain in her voice because the look she gave her was one Evie had never sen before. The princess was upset against herself because she knew that if there is one thing Mal hated it was people showing there weaknesses. So she was sure now that Mal was just going to get up and leave without having saying a word to her the entire time.

But at her surprise, that was not what happened at all.

Mal took a deep breath, put down the glass on the rock and put her hands under her thighs to hide the fact that they were shaking (so Evie pretended she didn't see it).

"My mother doesn't like soft people, and yes when I say doesn't like it is an euphemism. On top of it she had no mercy for people who disobeyed her. So when she discovered that her own daughter betrayed her, she went nuts, but only for a short moment. Then she decided that it was the best thing ever because who else than her daughter would make a better example? Of course she couldn't actually kill me but my mother is resourceful that way. The time I took to come back, everything was ready. Her minions jumped on me and beat me until I lose consciousness. When I woke up I was tied up to a post on the central place of the Isle. The Great Maleficient couldn't be bothered with telling me how long I was going to stay there. Actually, she couldn't be bothered with just coming to see me. I stayed there for days. Everyday, I was untied and beat up by three of my mother's minions. The rest of the time I could be hit by bystanders who wanted to prove themselves to her. Of course, it wasn't all bad, Jay stepped up. He tried to bring me some food and water once but he got beat up as well. He just managed to escape before Maleficient decided to put him on a post next to me."

Evie couldn't breath and she didn't dare move. Mal had never talked to her as much as she was doing and was she was saying was absolutely horrific. The worst part was that her instincts were telling her that is was far from being over;

"One day, a bystander came to hit me like he was getting use to" continued Mal. "I really hated him because he didn't do it just to prove his worth to my mother, he did it because he liked it. He was vicious in his kicks and what he liked the most was what he could do to me in the same time. His hands kept going places they were not supposed to. I don't know if my mother was aware of it, but she never did anything anyway. So yeah, that man was a pig. Except that this day I decided that enough was enough. I didn't care what trouble I might be getting into next. I didn't care how worse my punition was going to get. Hell, I didn't care if I was going to die because my mother could have decided I wasn't worth the trouble. When he got near me, I managed to stand up the way I could, despites my weak legs and my hands still tied to the post. I remember the way he grinned at me, like I just told him a good joke or like I was the joke. So I just kicked him, hard. I sent my foot to his rotula with all my force, which broke under the kick. I remember the scream that came out of his mouth. That sound was so empowering, I just wanted to keep hearing it so I kept hitting. He fell on the ground and I kept hitting him and hitting him. When he tried to stand again, I let myself fell off on top of him, but I knew I couldn't keep the control of the fight for much longer. I was so tired and soon, there would be no fight left in me. So I felt something I never felt before, something dark. I felt my eyes turned green and my body moved on his own. I felt my mouth find his throat and I felt myself bit it until something bitter was on the top of my tongue, then I pull my head away and yanked it off. The next thing I knew I was covered in blood and I had to spit a good once of flesh. I was scared of someone coming after me for killing the guy so I decided to face the rest of them but nobody came. I laughed in this kind of laugh that get people chills, I wanted them to know that they didn't manage to break me. Then everyone disappeared and my mother was there looking at me. Except that she never punished me for it like I thought she would, she untied me and took me in her arms. That was the first and last time she ever did it. She was proud and she wanted me to know it. So I knew I would never let myself be soft again. Then, her minions came with so much food I thought I was going to faint. That was when I realized that more I was going to be evil and more I was going to be rewarded and on the contrary, if I'm soft I'm going to... regret it".

Evie couldn't fathom the coldness of how Mal told the story of what happened to her. She had been tortured, starved and sexually assaulted, without mentioning the fact that she killed a man, and all that when she was eleven, but it didn't seem to affect her in any way. The princess wondered how broken Mal was by what happened to her.

On the other side on the rock, Mal was looking at her like she was waiting for her to say something, but Evie had no idea what she could possibly say or how Mal wanted her to react. Her instinct hesitated between giving Mal a hug or going to kill Maleficent but she knew that the purple fairy wouldn't appreciate any of those options.

Mal appeared to get that Evie wouldn't say anything right away so she continued. "So do you understand now? Why I can't talk to you anymore?" she asked.

Still not daring to speak Evie just shook her head. She understood Mal being afraid of being punished again but she also knew that it was more than that.

"Years ago, you made me soft and that's not something I'm ready to risk again. I don't want to keep fighting, I don't even want revenge as long as my mother doesn't actually talk to me about it. But I think that it is better for anyone that we forget what happened between us, ok? Nothing ever happened, nothing." On this note, Mal got up, took her glass and left in direction of Carlos' house leaving Evie, her glass and their rock (well, a rock, it wasn't theirs as nothing ever happened).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as promised, here's a little summary for those who chose to take care of themselves and didn't read this chapter.
> 
> Mal explains to Evie what happened to her after her mother's minion found out about them. She got punished, badly, and she learned the price of being soft and the reward of being evil, like killing a guy evil (even though he totally deserved it).  
> So she tells Evie that she can't be friend with her because the princess has the unique power of making her soft. And Mal decides that it is better is they forget they ever were friends to begin with and she left to go back to Carlos' party.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're one or two chapters away from what happens in Descendants, which is going to take place in one or two chapters as well. Then my story will be finished one chapter after that. Hang in there!

The next time they saw each others, it was in a school hallway.

Evie was taking something out of her locker while talking to Carlos when he suddenly began to shrivel. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't stop herself from turning around so she could see what caused that kind of reaction.

Mal and Jay were in the hallway walking toward wherever they needed to go. At first, Evie thought they didn't see her but Mal was way too much focused for just walking. The dragon was purposely ignoring her. Evie could understand the not talking but wasn't she worth at least a side glande? It was ok, she was royalty, she didn't someone who did not appreciate her. She was beautiful and strong. She didn't know how but one day she would get out of this place so all of this didn't really matter in the end. She really did get good at this, controlling what she was thinking. She was amazing and she didn't care... So why was she feeling like she was drowning? The air was stuck in her throat and she closed her locker with way too much force and noise.

Mal jumped and finally watched her. Her eyes were threatening. She was challenging her to say something. The thing was that Evie had never been one to back down from one of Mal's challenges. If this continued, she knew she was going to regret it.

Carlos looked in Jay's direction to see if he was going to intervene or something but apparently that entire story wasn't worth keeping his attention. He used that unplanned pause to flirt with some girls (and taking the opportunity to visit their pockets and lockers).

Evie was still choked up and her eyes were dangerously beginning to sting. She had no idea why it was that important for her that Mal agreed to talk to her. Maybe it was because Mal had been the only person with some kind of importance in her life since she was 6. It was true that she had Carlos now and he was great, but she would give anything for Mal to laugh with her again, or to see the little dragon blushing for no real reason when she decided to give her food.

At that moment, she knew she was going to cry, and she also knew that crying in the hallway of Dragon Hall was an action really close to suicide. For now, people were giving her space and quiet because she was the daughter of the Evil Queen and because she had an incredibly high Evil Quotient, but a show of weakness such as this would make her a target without a doubt.

She knew all of that but it didn't stop her from opening her mouth. What was she going to say? She had no idea, all she knew is that she couldn't do this no matter how selfish she was ignoring Mal's wishes. She only stopped herself when she felt a hand on her forearm. Touching someone for something else than fighting, stealing or flirting was not a thing around here so why was Carlos touching her? 

She looked at him and he discretely shook his head without breaking eye contact. She nod once to say she understood and looked back up, but Mal was nowhere to be seen.

"Thanks" she whispered to Carlos without daring to look at him again. He gently squeezed her forearm once, then she left him to go to class.

Carlos noticed that Jay was still here with his target but the thief wasn't listening a word she was saying. Carlos watched him leave without a word and go look for Mal. Then Jay seemed to feel Carlos' eyes on him because he looked back. Jay nod in a way that could be understood in a sort of  _hello yeah I know we're in the same boat together_ , then he left.  

 

 

At lunch, Carlos joined Evie to eat. As soon as he got there he was clearly determined to understand what the hell was going on. "What's the deal between you and Mal?" he asked without any form of introduction.

Evie looked around to be sure nobody could hear them because the last thing she wanted was Mal to find another reason to not speak to her. Then she told her everything about how Mal and her were friends despites Maleficent's orders and how Mal was punished because of it.

Carlos nod and stayed quiet for a long time after the end of the story, then he said exactly what Evie didn't want to hear. "You need to stay away from her".

"Like hell I do! I know she doesn't see it yet but we're better together, I just need..."

"No" he said firmly interrupting her. "I don't know why you're not afraid of Mal and Maleficent like any sane person would be but that's irrelevant. What is relevant is that on this island having feelings for someone is dangerous. And if she can make you cry in public you have to avoid her like a plague. Do you hear me?".

Of course she understood the reasoning, she wasn't stupid. But the thing was that Mal didn't just make her want to cry. If someone would have ask the princess to tell them a story about her fondest and happiest memories, she would have told about all the moments she spent with Mal. There were the only times she understood what being happy meant. She knew that if she got out of the Isle, she would meet a prince and she would find her happily ever after that her mother kept talking about. In the mean time that was the closest thing of happily ever after she could think of. But she couldn't say that to Carlos, he wouldn't understand so she chose to just shrugged instead.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have one last day, I'm not sure I'm going to make it.

Avoiding Mal was not the easiest task ever as they had a bunch of classes together everyday, but Evie got surprisingly really good at ignoring her existence and at not making eye contact. If she had looked, she would have seen how good Mal had become too. They were good, there was no doubt in that, a little too good maybe. It was just a miscalculation. The thing was that in a island where everyone distrusted everyone, you always kept an eye out... So people noticed if you didn't.

They were so good that they were not discrete at all and in a few days, the all school was talking about it. They were terrified, like end of the world terrified. They had no idea what was going on. When Mal had a problem with someone, the whole point was that everyone knew so that people wouldn't make the same mistake. But this time, noone knew anything. The only thing that people were almost sure was that Mal and Evie fought in a class room at some point. A lot of rumors were going around about it. Some said that they heard screams, glass shattering and noises making sound like tables breaking, but the room was magically spotless afterward.

Others said that they tried to kill each others but nothing worked as they were invincible. Nothing could perce their flesh or burn their skin, even the Evil Queen's poison was ineffective. So, Mal and Evie had decided to ignore one another while waiting to know what to do next.

The only thing the entire school agreed on was that they both were preparing two of the greatest evilest plan ever to bring down the other, so all the students were doing their best to not be in the way.

Mal was doing anything to stop the rumors. Everyone was even more scared of her than usual and that was perfect. Jay didn't have to go out of his way anymore to impress girls and distract them while he stole from them.

Even thought Carlos didn't ditched Evie, noone was messing up with him anymore. They were too scared to upset the princess. Evie could not care less about what they could think, they were all irrelevant. The only thing that mattered to her now was getting off the island. She knew that Carlos was working on something to perce the barrier. She didn't knew him for very long but she knew he could do it. The only problem was closing it once they left (ok, they actually had to find or build some sort of boat as well) because it was out of question that they bring along Maleficent or the Evil Queen, and Carlos wasn't a fan of his own mother as well.

 

 

That day after school, Evie and Carlos decided to go for a walk and to "visit" some shops. They had no money or anything to make a deal. Evie never learnt to steal nor did Carlos as he never didn't to. But neither of them wanted to go home so they were just wandering off.

At some point, they entered a shop that was selling anything at all, like literally anything. There were some rotten food at the front of the shop, parts of a boat (of which Carlos made a mental note of) in the rear, and trinkets rusting here and there. The owner of the shop was looking at them all suspicious, which was kind of funny Evie thought. In another life, she would have been a princess on Auradon and a shop owner would have kissed the floor she was walking on if she had honoured him by her presence. Evie knew she had lost all of that because of her mother's vanity, otherwise she wouldn't even have needed a prince that badly.

The owner stopped looking at them suddenly as new people were coming in. Carlos and Evie looked up to see if the newcomers were a threat to them or not. It was crazy how quickly Evie developed that new instinct after spending so much time on her own with only her mother to worry about. And because Fate on the Isle was funny that way, the newcomers were Mal and Jay, of course that wouldn't have been funny otherwise. They were just there because they figured they hadn't stolen anything around there for quite some time already.

When Mal noticed Evie, they were in the middle of the shop by then. She stared at the princess for quite some time without saying anything. That was the first time they made eye contact in so long, and they had both missed it so much. Of course, like always they wouldn't admit it but the feeling was there, which is exactly why Mal turned her heels to the door and went to take off without a word.

Evie rolled her eyes so hard she feared they might get stuck. That was ridiculous, the entire situation was just off. She sighed and before Carlos could react (he probably still had half his brain focused on how to build a boat) she ran and grabbed Mal's arm.

The whole shop went quiet, the rare other customers disappeared, and when Mal turned back to face Evie green eyes blazing, even the owner seemed to remember he had something to do somewhere else. Apparently the tensions between the daughter of Maleficent of the daughter of the Evil Queen were famous in the entire Isle of the Lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That may be stupid but I feel like Evie deserve to be called the Princess instead of the princess.   
> Do you think I should edit the story to make the change or it doesn't matter?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 chapters in one day... Yeah that's going to be tough. 
> 
> I hope it's not horrible to read.

Jay and Carlos were looking at each others. There was nothing hostile between them, it was more like they were trying to convince the other to do something to diffuse the situation. The thing was that none of them dared to move, they just wanted to follow the lead of everyone else and run as far as possible to escape the disaster that was about to unfold.

Mal seemed to be waiting for Evie to speak just so she could figure how much she was supposed to be angry. All she knew is that if the princess couldn't understand a simple request she would have to make an example. Her heart shivered at the thought. An example, it was how Maleficent called what she did to her. Mal couldn't believe she was thinking about doing something like that to Evie. No, death was better than breaking the soul of the little princess. Was she able to go through with it? Only one way to find out. Still waiting for Evie to say something, the purple dragon looked for a weapon in the shop. There! A fishing net that was too torn to catch a fish but that would be perfect to murder someone. Mal wasn't afraid of Carlos, she knew Jay would take care of him.

That was a good plan, extreme but still doable. Except that Evie appeared to have read her mind as she went to place herself between Mal and the fishing net. "You're ridiculous" she said.

"Wait... What?" asked a confused Mal. Why was Evie incapable of reacting the way Mal expected to? That was getting tiresome.

That was Evie's time to look at Mal with disdain in her eyes. She crossed her arms like she was upset but also like she didn't want to fight. "I get that you want to avoid me in school, I get that you don't want to be my friend, but running away from a store just because I'm here it's something entirely different. Thinking about how to kill me just because you cannot deal with it is something entirely different. Do you have an idea how pathetic you are? You are just a coward".

Ok then, they were both going to die, Carlos thought. Even Jay was really inconfortable, it was like his clothes didn't fit him anymore or maybe it was the room. Why were the walls coming closer?

So yeah, the green came back. That was kind of expected right now.

"Oh come on!" yelled a frustrated Evie. "You know I never have been afraid of your eyes!". That was true. She had no idea why people were so afraid of them. Ok it was weird that Mal could change parts of herself in a land without magic but she was special that way. It was probably due to the fact that the first time people saw her eyes, she was killing someone by ripping his throat with her teeth. Yeah ok, Evie could see it now. But for the princess the eyes were just beautiful. Except that Mal was just frustrating so each time Evie saw them, she didn't know if she wanted to touch Mal or slap her.

"Hum... Evie?" said Carlos with the most gentle voice anyone had ever heard. "Maybe we should... You know, get the fuck out" he said.

"Yeah Mal" said Jay. "This store sucks anyway, we should go steal something somewhere else".

The problem was that now, none of the girls would be the first to back down. They didn't even break eye contact, so they just ignored the guys.

But the interruption hadn't been in vain. It made Evie realized that she wasn't doing it right, she really needed to calm down because it was a miracle that Mal hadn't torn her apart yet after what she just said. "I get that your mother doesn't want us to see each others" she said softly. "But she doesn't have to know about it".

"Yeah, because it went so well last time" sarcastically argued Mal.

"We were young. I know we can make it work now." said Evie. "Please just think about it, losing you once has been the hardest thing that ever happened to me, do not make me go through that again". Vulnerability. That was a risky bet when it came to Mal, but Evie was done doing what was expected of her. She ignored Mal like she was supposed to but it didn't help any of them.

Mal took the time to think about it. She even took upon herself to break eye contact, just she could glance at Jay to know what he thought about it. The thing was that he didn't think anything about it or he wouldn't take the responsibility of voicing his thoughts, so he shrugged. Then he looked at Carlos as he was curious to see what the other thought about it.

Carlos wasn't exactly excited by the prospect of Mal and Evie being friends, but if it was the only way for the entire situation to not blow up at his face, he would do his best to help. "You don't actually have to sneak around to see each others" he said. " Mal is right, you'll get caught. The Island is always watching you. All you have to do is to convince Maleficent to you better together than fighting each others".

Mal snorted. "And how do you propose we do that?" she asked comically feigning interest.

Carlos knew his plan was going to work. His plans always worked anyway. "Your mother doesn't want you to get soft, well prove her that you're not. All you have to do is to make an evil plan in motion, something bad enough to gain the respect of our parents. It would earn us a super grade at school and it would allow you two to see each other without risking your lives and ours in the process. And let's be honest, if the four of us unite to plan something, we would be unstoppable".

Evie could have kissed him, she did not expect him to be on board like that. Mal was just looking at him like he was an alien. She hadn't expected him to not let alone be useful. She turned her back at them and went in direction to the door but didn't seem to want to leave so Evie didn't stop her. To be fair, Evie wouldn't have stopped her regardless, she had said what she wanted to say and if Mal wanted to leave she didn't see what she could do to stop her. Right now, Mal acted like she was looking for something. She appeared to find it and went back to Evie.

Then something happened that made Evie's heart run wild. Mal blushed. She hadn't blushed like that in years, not since they were kids. Then she hold out her hand to give whatever she had found to Evie. It was an apple, it was not as nice as the ones she used to give to the princess but Mal knew it would do the trick. And she was right because when Evie saw the apple an enormous smile appeared on her face and she jumped on Mal to crush her into a tight hug. Mal was way too embarrassed to hug her back but she laughed and that was good enough for Evie. The dragon looked at the princess and, after the smile, the hug and the apple, she knew the magic was back. For the first time in years, she felt completely safe.

Jay went to Carlos and he raised his hand to give him an high five. "Nice work" he praised.

Mal went all serious again. "We're all ok with the fact that my mother doesn't know anything before we at least bring Hell on Earth, right?".

Everyone nodded. They were all ok with it, and truth be told, they were super excited about it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lost that chapter and I hate myself. I had to write it again and I suck at it so I hope it is ok.

 

Carlos was not about to let an opportunity like that slide. He didn't really have a plan yet, none of them did. They didn't even have the beginning of the shadow of one. So he talked to them about his little project of poking a hole inside the barrier. With the four of them it wouldn't take very long to gather all the parts he needed, and they all agree that having Auradon's ressources would be a real advantage for whatever they would end up planning for.

"We should probably stop for now" said Mal. "People left because they were scared, but that will only keep them occupied for so long, they will come back. We should go somewhere else".

"Ok but where?" asked Jay. "The entire problem was that we can't be seen all of us together yet. If people find us together twice in the same period of time, we're screwed".

"It's not going to be doable for the long run but for now but we can go somewhere they would never dare following us" Evie said. She looked at Mal to see if she was getting what she was trying to say and by the smirk she gave her, she was.

"The forest" Mal whispered. "Ok, let's go" she said, not leaving the time for Jay and Carlos to ask whatever questions they might have.

And they had questions, they also had absolutely no desire of going into a haunted forest but neither of them had a better plan to propose so they just followed.

The left the shop and entered the street but they stopped suddenly. Something was off. They couldn't say what it was right away but they all had the same cold feeling you got right before you walked into a trap. Then it hit them, the street was empty and there wasn't a noise to be heard. Mal's cold feeling became more important because even though she knew they had scared people, they wouldn't have just disappeared. Only one person had that much of an effect on them. Dreading what she knew she would find, Mal turned around to face her mother who was there with three of her minions.

When Evie noticed the horns her heart went all the way to her throat with so much force she let go of her apple.

"Mother" greeted Mal. She had no idea if Maleficent knew what Evie looked like but it didn't hurt to hope for the best.

"Come with me! All of you!" Maleficent ordered them.

Not only they didn't move at all but they were getting whiter by the second. The felt like they were about to throw up or maybe they would just die right now and there. It wouldn't be so bad. Death seemed like a blessing for Carlos. He hadn't actually seen it but even him had heard about _"The Punishment"_ of Mal.

Mal knew that Jay already had an escape plan so she wasn't really worried for him, but she didn't know what Carlos was capable of. Besides, even if Evie managed to run away, she was as good as dead now. Which, wasn't going to work for Mal. Granted, she had been planning to kill the princess not even 20 minutes ago but right now she was not going to let her be killed.

"Mother" she said. "Whatever you heard, I can assure you that they don't have any reason to come with us".

Apparently, if the guttural laugh that Maleficent let go, Mal just said something really funny. "Why do you think Evie came back after so long?".

Mal shrugged because she had no idea. She looked at Evie like she had been sent by her mother all along, like some part of test. That would explain why she had been so persistent. Even Carlos had the biggest doubt ever (you had to admit that the timing was dangerously suspicious). But when Mal saw the look of utterly confusion of the princess' face, she looked back at her mother and she raised her eyebrows as an interrogation.

"I made a truce with her mother" said Maleficent. "We need the four of you for something but we needed to verify that you would kill her on the spot".

The four kids were confused. That state of uncertainty was beginning to bother them really much.

"The four of us?" asked Jay.

"Yes, that's actually ironic that you find your way to each others, it bodes well for what we planned to do if you ask me".

Their parents wanted something from them so they manipulated them, shocker. But something was still bothering her. "My mother was really ok with risking my life just to see if Mal was going to kill me?" she asked.

"Oh yes" answered Maleficent. "Risking your life for the chance of you getting off the island and finding a prince? She did not even hesitate".

Evie would have to deal with this information later. For now they were too busy looking at each other in the hope that one of them understood what was going on. At first they looked at Mal because it was her mother so she was supposed to be used to, but when it became clear she was as lost as them, they shifted their hope onto Carlos. He was smart and they were sure he could translate crazy.

Maleficent must have been bored or she was tired of waiting and answering stupid questions because, just like that, she left. When she realized they still hadn't moved, she grew frustrated. "Mal!" she yelled.

So they followed, all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the beginning of the movie. They follow Maleficent until they are at Mal's place were all of their parents were surprisingly already waiting for them. They were asked to steal the wand and blah blah blah. 
> 
> Now, I'm only going to write a scene if I'm changing it or if I decide that it happened even though we didn't see it in the movie.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to write over the last chapter and this one as well, I'm getting sick of it. I hope you don't feel it. I would hate to give you something bad to read because you have been so nice with me and I love you all.

Two days later _ The night before they left for Auradon

 

Those last two days had been great but Mal was getting nervous about the next day. She had been in her bed for three hours, just wondering about what she was going to do.

The only thing she didn't worry about was their capacity to work as a group to live up to their parents' plan (if you could call it that, the entire plan was: Go to Auradon, steal the wand, free us and we'll take over the world). If those two days had taught her anything, it was that together they just worked. As their parents were all crazy and/or paranoid, they had been forbidden to go out because that was supposed to be dangerous or something. So they had to become creative to not die from boredom.

She could feel her life taking the biggest turn ever, she just didn't know in which direction fate was pulling her. The only thing she knew was that she was grateful to be sent with those specific people.

Ok, that was enough. She had enough pretending she would managed to sleep tonight so she got up. She wanted to sneak off to get some air but knowing her mother, one of her minions was waiting for her by the door. So she settled with the next best thing, their balcony. She left her bedroom and she tiptoed her way across her house. The thing was that someone was already on the balcony. Mal almost went back went she recognized the person. Even though she couldn't see the color of the hair in the darkness, she would know those hair anywhere.

She continued to walk in Evie's direction, which only increased her nervousness. Yeah, those two days had been great, but she hadn't been alone with Evie during all this time.

Evie heard her and waited that she was close enough to sent her a smile warm enough to convince Mal that everything was going to be ok. Then she held out her hand for the little dragon to take it, which is exactly what she did until she was pulled close enough to let her head on the princess shoulder if she wanted to.

They stayed like that for a while. Mal knew that noone could see them in the darkness, but if she was honest with herself she would have known that she didn't really care if they were seen.

"Are you happy" she asked. "It's weird for me. I never expected to leave the island, but you... You always knew you would leave and find your prince".

"That's not really true" Evie said. "I mean, yes I am more than happy to leave that stupid island behind me, and yes I intent to find myself a prince as it always was my mother's wishes. But he is never going to be MY prince, you know; Because if you remember, I have already found it". She was teasing. She didn't even have to be able to see Mal to know that she was blushing, hard.

Mal felt her face burning after Evie's words so she hid her face in the other girl's hair. Mal liked it. Evie's shoulder was actually confortable and her smell was appeasing her.

They had no idea what would happen after the next day. The only thing they knew for sure was that right now, they could enjoy the other's presence and it was enough for now. They would worry about being bad and world domination tomorrow.

 

 

Auradon _ Pre-coronation

 

Evie couldn't begin to believe how so much happened in such a short period of time.

All the loneliness she had felt after losing Mal for so long was gone. All the heartbreak she felt when Mal pushed her away was gone. They were in Auradon and she was surrounded by royalty. In other words, she was leaving the dream. Well, the dream would be perfect in Mal could share her enthusiasm, but to be honest, the simple fact that she was able to share anything with Mal already meant the world to Evie.

The only problem was how douchey everyone was to them. Because yeah, everyone hated them. The one that had the most difficulty to deal with that much hostility was Mal. All her life, she had wanted to live up to her mother's expectations, to become her. All her life people feared and respected her because she was Maleficent's daughter. Here, people hated her for the exact same reason.

Back on the island, they were trained to be evil and to perfectly execute an evil plan. But they were not trained to think about the pain they caused. Here they had the front row to witness the pain their parents caused to entire families. That was a perspective they hadn't even thought to be prepared for.

On a last sour note, Evie didn't even find a prince. Coronation was a few hours away and she didn't have a prince to show her mother. To be fair, she had given up on finding one. With Mal's support, she realized she didn't need one despite what her mother had kept telling her all her life. But so close of freeing her mother, she was getting cold feet. Being a strong and independent princess sounded good and all, but she really didn't want to be the one who told her mother. Even Mal had a prince. Granted, it was due to a love potion and it was only part of their plan but still, she had one.

Focus. Yes she should definitively focus. Mal was nervous enough for the both of them and if she felt Evie panicking that wouldn't help her at all.

She calmed her breathing and concentrated on the hair she was fixing. She had ended Mal's dress and she had helped her put it on, and the hair was almost done. In a few minutes, Mal would be perfect for a coronation. At Ben's arm, she would look like a real princess, and Evie couldn't stop feeling a little bit jealous. She had no idea why she was feeling like that. Was she because she wanted to be the princess? No, she knew it was all fake and she respected Mal too much to be jealous of her. She didn't know and she didn't have time to wonder what was going on inside her head.

"You're going to be perfect" she said in Mal's ear.

"Really?" asked a really nervous dragon. "What happen if I mess up? What happen if I can't do it?".

Evie turned Mal her way and she lowered herself until her face was a few inches away from the other girl's face. "You won't. We went over your plan. Everything is going to be ok and you're going to be perfect."

Mal nodded but she was clearly not convinced. Evie could feel how conflicted she was. She took both hands of the purple fairy into her own. "No matter what happens" she said. "No matter what you decide to do. I'm with you. Do you understand what I'm saying?".

Mal stared at her for a long time, then she nodded again for real this time. She looked more at peace with herself like it didn't really matter what was about to happen because they were together and they were better together.


	17. Chapter 17

Auradon _ Post-coronation

 

 So... Mal was upset. They all quickly picked up on that, but none of them knew the root of the problem. She kind of had a choice. She just betrayed everything she ever believed in, she couldn't go back home, she turned her mother into a lizard and she had been followed by journalists for the past three days. But none of it explained why she barely talked to them. What did they ever do to her? Because last time Evie checked, they betrayed the same things she did.

Carlos was all about giving her space, which Jay agreed to. But how long was Evie supposed to wait? Three days were a long enough time out in her book. Besides, what was really bothering her was that Mal had no problem talking to Ben, who apparently didn't care about the part where he had completely been used. Evie really started to hate Ben, which would be ok if he wasn't so damn nice. He was adorable with everyone. He even took the time to revalidate Evie's royalty status and that definitely was the nicest anyone ever done for her. And lately he was the only one who could get Mal to smile so she really had no reason to hate him.

The problem was that he was indeed the only one that could get Mal to smile and Evie was dying from jealousy.

That night after spending one hour being properly ignored by Mal, Evie decided that it was enough. "How long are you going to ice me out?" she asked. "Or maybe you could tell me why. What did we do to upset you?"

At that Mal growled, like for real she literally growled. Then she sighed. But Evie knew her well enough to know that it was just for show. Mal wasn't really angry to have been called out. She was more embarrassed than anything. "You didn't do anything" she said. "It's me. I'm being dumb".

"Well at least we agree on that" Evie teased. "It's ok, you can tell me what's going on in this head of yours". Then she left her bed to go sit on Mal's.

"We're friend" she simply said. And she stopped like it was a good enough answer.

Evie did her best to not be frustrated. "Yes we are" she said. "And?".

"I told everyone we were friends and it was true. I just... I just didn't know before.

"That was this it about?" Evie asked laughing. "You may have been the last person to admit it but yes we are friends. The two of us had been friends since the first day you found me on the beach, you have been friend with Jay for years, and you've pretty much adopted Carlos since the day in the shop. Admitting you have friend is not a bad thing, you just admitted you were human".

By the frown that appeared on Mal's face, Evie knew she had made a mistake and that she would have to trade lightly.

"That's the problem" Mal muttered. "I'm not human, not entirely. And my mother has always told me that my human part made me weak". At that, Evie felt so much love for the little dragon. She promised herself she would always protect and treasure her. She promised she would make Mal see how great she is and how all her parts are just perfect the way they are. In the mean time, she just rubbed the other girl's leg to provide some kind of confort, and she loved how Mal didn't try to avoid the contact.

"And you defeated your mother so what does it tell you?" she said.

"I only won because you were there" answered Mal not looking at her.

"Exactly" Evie said. "Human connections saved the day. You know that this is why your mother was defeated the first time around, right? Loving and caring for your friends make you stronger they don't make you weak".

Mal smiled at Evie and she figured that with what she felt for the princess, she must be pretty invincible.

 

 

Auradon _ A week later

 

Mal was getting ready. Usually Evie would help her with her clothes or at least with her make up and hair for her date, but not today, toda she was sulking in her bed.

The dragon tried knowing what was wrong several times but Evie would just shrugged and mumbled nonsensical things.

The moment she ended getting ready was the moment she knew she was about to get her answer. Now that Evie noticed that Mal was ready to leave, she left her bed and she wandered around the room without doing anything at all.

"Ok Evie, what's wrong?" Mal asked taking her bag. "You're worrying me".

"Nothing" answer the blue haired princess. "Have fun at your date". It had been said way more harsh than it was necessary.

Mal let down her bag and crossed her arms. "I am not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong with you".

At that, Evie just snorted. "You say that like I'm the one being punished" she said. "Maybe I don't want you to go at your stupid date".

That was when Mal understood. "Oh my God! You're jealous! Why... Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. She looked hurt a little bit and Evie didn't dare do anything else more than shrug. Mal went closer and took one of her hands in her own. "I knew you wanted a prince but I thought you moved on. If you wanted Ben you just had to ask."

Ok, Evie was so confused and like she didn't find anything to answer to that, Mal just continued. "Of course, we'll need a bit of love potion but once he sees how amazing you are, he's going to love you for real. I mean, how could he not fall for you?".

Mal was smiling now, like she had the answer to the world's biggest problems.

That was when Evie found back the use of her body and her vocal cords. She needed to take a step back because what was happening didn't make any sense. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I am talking about Ben" Mal answered like it was obvious.

"Thanks I got that but why? I mean, you do realize that he is your boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah sure but if you want him, you can have him".

That was nice. Evie knew that it was nice. Mal was just being Mal. Evie knew the dragon would give her anything to make her happy, she had done that their entire life. But right now, everything felt so wrong she had trouble seeing the nice part of the gesture. She needed to think. Mal saw she was jealous so she was ready to give her Ben. There was just a small problem with that plan, Evie didn't want Ben. He was a prince but he wasn't her prince. She knew that because her prince was in fact the purple dragon who was looking at her with worry on her face waiting to give her the person who made her happy.

"Look Mal" Evie said softly. "I get that you chose good and that you want to be nice but you cannot give me Ben".

"Why not?" she asked.

Does she really not see the problem with this?

"Because he is your happy ending!" yelled Evie with too much hurt in her voice for Mal not to notice.

This time Mal understood what Evie was trying to tell her. She looked at her in a way she never did before, but it made Evie think about the first time Mal's eyes turned green. She had the same look of surprise, wonder and something else, something transcendent. Then Mal smiled in a way she never did before, it was warm, confident, soft and a little bit mocking. "No he's not" she said. "You are".

Shock was all over Evie's face. She couldn't stop opening and closing her mouth, not knowing what to say. She thought about the forest and about taking risk knowing that Mal would always save her. So she didn't say a word, she took a leap, hoping that Mal would catch her. Evie closed the distance between them and crushed her lips on Mal's, who didn't hesitate before kissing her back.

Mal thought about the second time she went on the beach, when the princess was somewhere hiding herself. She thought about the apple she left on the rock, the apple who changed her life. She never knew if that apple had been the best or the worst decision of her life. Breaking the kiss to catch her breath, she looked into Evie's eyes and she knew that yeah, leaving that apple on the rock was the best decision she ever made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sharing this journey with me.
> 
> I hope you liked it.
> 
> I'm going to write again really soon but I don't know about what. Maybe it'll have nothing to do with Descendants maybe it will (I definitively don't rule out being inspired by Descendants 2). I don't know, we'll see. 
> 
> In the mean time, you can check out my other stories "Oxygen" and "Mother's instinct", which are both one shots so it wouldn't take you very long. 
> 
> Love you all and thank you for putting up with me.

**Author's Note:**

> I am probably going to write something about Decendants 2 because Mal and Evie are so in love with each others it's pretty much canon.


End file.
